PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Woman & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and the national non-profit organization Swim Across America (SAA) will make waves in the fight against cancer with the fifth annual SAA-Rhode Island Swim on Saturday, Sept. 6. The one-mile competitive ocean swim at Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett, R.I. starts at 10 a.m. Half-mile swimmers run into the water at 10:20 a.m.

"The swims are a great way for people to come together and participate in a sport they love alongside Olympic swimming legends while raising critical funds for Woman & Infants Hospital," says 1988 Olympic Silver Medalist Janel Jorgensen McArdle, SAA president.

Teams from Brown University, Bryant University, Providence College, Roger Williams University, and the University of Rhode Island will join together for this year's swim. Neighboring teams from Holy Cross and Wesleyan University will also participate, making it one of the largest groups of college athletes in an open-water swim in the country.

Providence College Head Coach and SAA-RI Board member John O'Neill credits the coaches and captains from each of the programs for joining in the effort. "We would like to thank the leaders of every college program for stepping up and joining us this year to help in the fight against cancer. The big winners on this day are the patients who will benefit from the Doctors and Research Specialists at Women and Infants Hospital!"

Swim Across America is a non-profit corporation that runs events from Boston to San Francisco to support cancer research at the country's finest hospitals and institutions. Proceeds from the Rhode Island swim go directly to Woman & Infants hospital, the largest and most diverse oncology service for woman in the Northeast, providing a broad spectrum of care for gynecological and breast cancers. It has evolved into a world-renowned, multi-disciplinary facility where clinicians uncover key answers to the questions of cancer, and focus on the needs of the patients and families.

About Swim Across America Swim Across America is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to raising money for cancer research, prevention, and treatment through swimming-related events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers across the nation and past and current Olympians, SAA is helping to find a cure for cancer through athleticisms, community outreach and direct service.

About Woman & Infants Hospital Woman & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. Its primary teaching affiliate, The Warren Aplert Medical School of Brown University, educates obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as specializing in a number of programs in women's medicine. Women & Infants is the ninth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country with nearly 8,400 deliveries per year. In 2009, Woman & Infants opened the country's largest single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.

Woman & Infants has been designated as a Breast Cancer of Excellence from the American College of Radiology, a center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization, a Center of Biomedical Research in Excellence by the National Institute of Health, and a Neonatal Resource Services of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group and the National Institutes of Health's Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.

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